Will donating plasma affect my NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?
I've been unemployed for about 6 weeks and recently started donating plasma twice a week to help with bills. The plasma center pays $50-60 per donation so I'm making around $400-500 a month. Do I need to report this income to NYS Department of Labor when I file my weekly claims? I'm worried this might reduce my benefits or cause problems with my claim status. The money really helps but I don't want to mess up my unemployment.
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Keisha Taylor
Yes, you absolutely need to report plasma donation payments when filing your weekly claims. NYS Department of Labor considers this income even though it's technically compensation for your time and plasma. Any money you receive needs to be reported - they'll reduce your weekly benefit amount based on what you earn. It's better to report it and have reduced benefits than risk an overpayment notice later.
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Yara Khoury
•Thanks for the heads up! Do you know if there's a threshold where small amounts don't affect benefits? Like if I only donated once and made $50?
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Anastasia Popova
•Unfortunately there's no minimum threshold - even $50 counts as income that needs to be reported. NYS Department of Labor will reduce your benefits dollar-for-dollar after the first $50 you earn in a week (that $50 is disregarded), but you still have to report everything. So if you made $50 from one donation, you'd report it but it likely wouldn't reduce your weekly benefit amount.
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Paolo Longo
I donate plasma too and always report it on my weekly claims. NYS Department of Labor has a partial benefit formula - if you earn less than your weekly benefit amount, they'll reduce your payment but you'll still get something. For example, if your weekly benefit is $300 and you earn $100 from plasma, you might get around $200 instead of the full $300. The exact calculation depends on their formula.
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Amina Bah
•Wait, I thought plasma donation wasn't considered work income since you're not employed anywhere? This is confusing.
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Paolo Longo
•It doesn't matter if it's traditional employment or not - any money you receive while claiming benefits needs to be reported. That includes freelance work, gig economy jobs, selling stuff online, and yes, plasma donations.
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Oliver Becker
I had a similar situation last year with selling items on eBay while on unemployment. NYS Department of Labor counts ANY income you receive during your claim period. I tried to avoid reporting small amounts and ended up with an overpayment notice for $1,200. Had to go through the whole appeal process. Just report everything to be safe.
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Yara Khoury
•Yikes, that sounds like a nightmare! I definitely don't want to deal with overpayment issues. Better to be honest upfront.
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CosmicCowboy
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this directly, I recently used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I was stuck in adjudication for weeks and couldn't get anyone on the phone, but through their service I finally talked to someone who explained my situation. Might be worth checking out if you want official confirmation about reporting plasma income.
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Natasha Orlova
•How much does something like that cost? Seems like you shouldn't have to pay extra just to talk to someone at an agency you're already dealing with.
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CosmicCowboy
•I thought the same thing at first, but when you're dealing with potentially losing benefits or getting hit with overpayments, it was worth it for me to get clear answers. The NYS Department of Labor phone system is just impossible otherwise.
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Javier Cruz
this whole system is ridiculous!! you're literally selling your BLOOD to survive and they want to penalize you for it? meanwhile rich people get tax breaks for breathing. the unemployment office makes everything so complicated on purpose to discourage people from claiming what they're entitled to
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Keisha Taylor
•I understand the frustration, but the rules exist to prevent fraud and ensure benefits go to people who truly need them. It's not ideal but reporting income is standard across all state unemployment systems.
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Diego Vargas
I work at a plasma center and can confirm that donation payments are considered reportable income by most state unemployment agencies, including New York. What you're receiving is compensation for your time and biological material, which makes it taxable income. We actually provide donors with 1099-MISC forms at the end of the year for amounts over $600. The good news is that NYS has that partial benefit calculation others mentioned - you won't lose your entire weekly benefit amount, just a portion based on what you earn. It's definitely better to report it accurately from the start rather than risk complications later.
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Diego Vargas
•That's really helpful to know from someone who works at a plasma center! So the 1099-MISC confirms it's definitely considered income. Quick question - do plasma centers typically track how much each donor makes throughout the year, or is that something I need to keep track of myself for tax purposes?
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